As staunch supporters of the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy (GCAE), since it was launched in Dublin in 1997, we look forward to co chairing the campaign, during our term of office as Presidents of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE). It is our intention to play a ‘hands-on’ personal role in the activities of the GCAE over the coming four years, as we believe there is still a lot more that the IBE and ILAE can achieve through this prestigious project. We also want to thank our partner, the World Health Organization (WHO) for helping us in establishing the Global Campaign and providing access to Governments and other related agencies.

We take this opportunity to highlight the terrific achievements of the GCAE and the progress made in countries and regions such as China, Brazil and Africa to reduce the treatment gap, increasing awareness and augmenting educational opportunities with significant successes in the social care aspects of epilepsy. It is our hope that a great deal more can be achieved throughout the globe in a way that will be apparent to everyone worldwide.

In order to achieve these objectives, we have begun to introduce new structures, such as the new Global Campaign Task Force led by Helen Cross and Li Shichuo which will help develop a strong future strategy for the campaign. In addition to promoting and achieving access to quality care for those with epilepsy, a core group of Regional Representatives will help in communicating the messages of the campaign back to ground level. We also believe that Hanneke de Boer has done outstanding work in keeping the GCAE project on track for several years and we are pleased that she will continue to assist us in her new role as campaign co ordinator.